What we believe

At Saint James, we are devoted to welcoming, encouraging, and empowering all to grow in faith and to do God’s work in the world.

We embrace the diversity of God’s creation. As individuals, some of us are quite conservative in our theological beliefs. Others of us are quite liberal. But we all seek to follow Christ, and to lead lives grounded in his example. Because we are Episcopalians, we meet people at their particular point in their spiritual journey. We encourage each other to discover and develop our relationships with God and to discern and carry out the ministries for which we are gifted.

What does the Episcopal Church believe?

The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and traces its heritage to the beginnings of Christianity. Our liturgy retains ancient structure and traditions and is celebrated in many languages. In fact, in addition to the United States, the Episcopal Church has congregations around the world.

We strive to love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every person.

Both men and women, regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation, are eligible for ordination as deacons, priests, and bishops.

We believe in amendment of life, the forgiveness of sin, and life everlasting.

Lay people exercise a vital role in the governance and ministry of our church.

Holy Communion may be received by all baptized Christians, not only members of the Episcopal Church.

We uphold the Bible and worship with the Book of Common Prayer.

We affirm that committed relationships are lifelong and monogamous. Episcopalians also recognize that there is grace after divorce and do not deny the sacraments to those who have been divorced.

We affirm that issues such as birth control are matters of personal informed conscience.

We celebrate our unity in Christ while honoring our differences, always putting the work of love before uniformity of opinion.